Stock Market & Financial Investment News

IDC sees worldwide smartphone shipments reaching 1.2B units in 2014According to a recently published mobile phone forecast from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, worldwide smartphone shipments will reach a total of 1.2 billion units in 2014, marking a 23.1% increase from the 1.0 billion units shipped in 2013. From there, total volumes will reach 1.8 billion units in 2018, resulting in a 12.3% compound annual growth rate from 2013–2018. Looking forward, IDC expects Android (GOOG) to lose a minimal amount of share over the forecast period, mainly as a result of Windows Phone (MSFT) growth. Android has been, and will continue to be, the platform driving low-cost devices. ASPs of Android smartphones were well below market average in the first quarter of 2014 and are expected to be $254 for full year 2014, dropping to $215 in 2018. Growth of Android phones is expected to outpace the market in 2014, rising 25.6% with volume just shy of 1 billion units. IDC expects share of iOS (AAPL) to drop from 14.8% in 2014, to 13.7% in 2018. In 2014, Windows Phone volumes are expected to grow 29.5% over 2013, reaching 43.3 million shipments. IDC continues to reduce its BlackBerry (BBRY) forecast across the board with volumes expected to drop 49.6% in 2014, equivalent to 9.7 million units. Looking forward, volumes are expected to continue to decline to 4.6 million units in 2018.

Apple July weekly volatility increases into Q3 and outlook Apple July weekly call option implied volatility is at 56, August is at 31, October is at 26; compared to its 52-week range of 15 to 36, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q3 results on July 21.

Samsung most popular smartphone maker in Q2, TrendForce saysSamsung (SSNLF) was the most popular smartphone maker in the second quarter, even though the smartphone market has started to slow down, according to data from research firm TrendForce. Smartphone shipments will grow 8.2% year over year in 2015, though that's down from the previously anticipated growth rate of 11.6%, the report says. Samsung has led in smartphone shipments with a second-quarter growth of 26.8%. However, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge's annual shipment forecast has been marked down repeatedly. TrendForce has also revised Samsung's annual smartphone shipments downwards to 45M units this year. As Chinese vendors are taking more shares of the low- to mid-range product market, Samsung's ability to reverse its fortune may hinge on the success of its Galaxy Note 5. If this device is able to attract consumers with upgraded specs and new features, then Samsung will avoid the high possibility of negative shipment growth for this year. Apple (AAPL) rode on the popularity of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in this year's first half and achieved a remarkably strong shipment result in the off-peak season. The next-generation iPhone due to be launched this year offers no major changes in appearance, but Apple has given the device a new A9 processor and upgraded its memory to 2GB LPDDR4 for the first time. These improvements along with the Force Touch module and a camera featuring a possible resolution of 12MP will give the next iPhone a huge boost. Thus, TrendForce's iPhone shipment forecast for this year continues to be very positive with a high growth of 15% upwards. Lenovo (LNVGY) has fallen to No. 6 in the global shipment ranking and is expected to see a 20%-30% decline in this year's shipments. Lenovo's market share did not double as anticipated after its takeover of Motorola in 2014. Moreover, Lenovo did not have a well-defined product positioning strategy and the brand faced strong competition from challengers offering lower-priced smartphone models.

HERE offering free HD map data for automated vehicle testsHERE, a Nokia (NOK) company, announced it is making high-definition mapping data of sections of public roads in four countries available to all automotive companies to support their highly automated vehicle initiatives. HERE is offering HD mapping data of specific stretches of open road in Silicon Valley and Michigan in the United States, as well as in France and Germany, to all carmakers and automotive suppliers for test purposes. HERE plans to offer data for Japan too later this year. HERE is currently working with more than 10 "leading automotive companies" on automated driving projects, the company said. Publicly traded automakers include Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY).

Analysts down on Apple Watch sales, AFP reportsCertain analysts have said that Apple's new smartwatch is not a mainstream hit due its disappointingly low sales figures, AFP reports. A study from Slice Intelligence suggests that Apple Watch orders have decreased 90% since the week the device made its debut, the report says. In response, BMO Capital Markets said it told investors that they were "disappointed" and reduced their estimate for Apple Watch sales in the upcoming year, the report adds. Richard Windsor at Edison Investment Research said that even if Slice is off the mark about the plunge in Apple Watch orders, it was evident that the wearable has sold way less than even conservative expectations, AFP says. Reference Link

YouTube advertisers surge 40% over past year, FT reportsThe number of advertisers on Google's YouTube has increased more than 40% in the past year, the Financial Times reports. YouTube said that advertisers from the top 100 brands, ranked by Interbrand, were spending 60% more on advertising than last year, the report says. The website does not disclose revenue figures, but certain data show that it is benefiting from a surge in demand for digital video advertising as millennials spend more time on the site, the report says. Reference Link